NAE Connects Educators with Experts
Posted on August 19th, 2015 by ASEE
As a teacher, you’re supposed to have all the answers–but you know that sometimes, you just don’t. What if you always had an engineering expert to provide inspiration and advice? The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) recently announced the launch of LinkEngineering, a new website that connects preK-12 teachers with engineering experts, fellow educators, lesson plans, tips, and tools.
Filed under: Class Activities, For Teachers, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, K-12 Education News, K-12 Outreach Programs, Lesson Plans, Web Resources | Comments Off on NAE Connects Educators with Experts
Tags: ASEE, Lesson Plans, LinkEngineering, NAE, Web Resources
Elementary students investigate major landforms (e.g., mountains, rivers) in groups of two. They build a 3D model of a landscape depicting several of these landforms. Once they have built their model, they act as civil and transportation engineers to build a road through the landscape they have created.
High school students working in teams of four learn how a device made with dye from berries can be used to convert light energy into electrical energy by building their own organic solar cells and measuring performance based on power output.
In this activity for middle school science, high school physics, or engineering, groups of students explore the housing crisis caused by natural disasters by applying appropriate technology and fluid mechanics to design sustainable shelters that can withstand flooding and high winds.
In this activity, student teams in grades 8 and up learn about the engineering design process and physical forces by building a bridge from a single sheet of paper and up to five paper clips that will span 20 cm and support the weight of 100 pennies. Like real engineers, teams also have limited budgets and must make trade-offs in materials.
Teams of students in grades 5 to 7 locate a contaminant spill in a hypothetical site by measuring the pH of soil samples. They then predict the direction of groundwater flow using mathematical modeling and use the engineering design process to come up with alternative treatments for the contaminated water.
Math can be a tough sell. Many students think it’s too hard, or that they’re no good at it. It doesn’t have to be this way, says Stanford Graduate School of Education Professor Jo Boaler, who has designed a free program for teachers to change mindsets and inspire their fifth through ninth graders to think more deeply in mathematics.
Plant a tree. Snap a selfie for NASA. There are countless ways students and teachers can celebrate the 45th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22. This year’s theme: It’s Our Turn to Lead. See how your small steps can lead to big change!
Want to get students from preschool to high school excited about learning? Discover how to incorporate authentic, hands-on engineering activities and projects in your STEM classes at ASEE’s annual K-12 Workshop in Seattle on June 13, 2015. 
